Automatic feeder for branners.



A. J. MASKRBY. AUTOMATIC FEEDER FOR BRANNBRS.

APPLICATION mum MAR. 4. 1903.

no uqnm.

ifit names.-

iio. 7411295,

i atentecl Qeptember 29,

UNITED SIr iPATE IB Qwernn'rnon JAMES MASKREY, or MARTINS FERRY, 01110.

-AUTOMATIC FEEDER FOR BRANNERS.

SPECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 740,295, dated September 29, 1903. Application filed March 4,1903. Serial No. 146,230. (lilo model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, ARTHUR J AMES MASK- REY, a subject of the King of Great Britain, and a resident of Martins Ferry, county of Belmont, State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Feeders for Branners, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to new and useful improvements in feeding mechanism for branners, and more particularly toa novel device for automatically feeding sheets of metal or metal plates to branners.

The object of my invention is to provide a simple machine of the character mentioned which is operated by the branner mechanism and which will feed metal plates or sheets to the branner oneat a time, no matter at what rate of speed the said plates or sheets are being delivered thereto, and which consequently will prevent the formation of cobbles, which is consequent to the feeding of more than one I sheet at a time.

A further object of myinvention is to provide a machine of the character mentioned which is not dependent upon other than the branner mechanism for driving means and which consequently remains at rest when the branner is inactive. 1

With these and other objects in view myinvention finally consists in the particular construction, arrangement, and combination of parts, which will hereinafter be fully described, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- 7 Figure 1 is a side elevation of my invention, the near side guide and support being for the sake of clcarness shown removed; and Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the same complete.

Referring to'the said drawings, in which like reference-numerals designate like parts throughout both views, 1 indicates the front end ofthe branner shownin broken section, 2 the forward extensions or side rails thereof, 3 the carrying-forks, 4 the cross-bars on which the forks are mounted, 5 the fork-carrying chains, 6 a shaft journaled in the side rails 2, and 7 the wheels on the shaft 6 for carrying the chains 5, all of the same being of the ordinary construction.

Secured to the front end of each side rail is one end of a substantially U-shaped bar 8, which extends from one side rail 2 to the other, as shown. Supported at their front ends by the cross-bar 8 and at their rear ends by a cross-bar 9,.which extends from one side to the other, are a plurality of inclined bars 10, having smooth upper surfaces, forming a table. The rear end of said tableis supported by legs or supports 11, which are of suflicient length to hold the table at a suitable angle for permitting metal sheets or plates to slide forward thereon by their own weight.

Adjustably mounted in slots 12, provided in the bar 8, and in slots 13, provided in the cross-bark which is supported by the parallel inclined bars 10 at each side of the table, are vertical posts 15. Supported by said posts 15 at each side of, the table is a side guide 16, said guides 16 being adapted for guiding a sheet of metal forward on said bars as shown, and have passing therethrough and through the slots 12 and 13, respectively, bolts l7, with nuts on their lower ends by whichsaid posts are secured in place in said slots. The said side guides 16 maybe adjusted to regulate the distance therebetween to accommodate sheets of different widths by loosening the nuts on thebolts 17 and moving the same forward or backward in the said slots.

Pivotedat 18110 the side rail 2 atone side of, the front end of the branner and at 21 at the other side of the front end of the branner is a substantially U-shaped bar or rod 19, having one of its sides extended beyond the pivotal point into the front end of the branner, forming alever 20, which normally lies in the position indicated in full lines in Fig. 1. The body of said rod 19 extends transversely underneath the bars 10 at a distance in the rear of its pivotal points 18 and 21. Secured to the transverse portion of said rod 19 are a plurality of upwardlyextending arms or stops 22, located at points between the bars 10, which normally project upward between said bars 10, so as to prevent a sheet of metal therebehind from sliding for- Ward into the hooked ends 23 of said bars 10. The front end of the lever 20 is provided with a bend, substantially as shown, the object of which will presently be shown.

Journaled in the lower part of the side guides 16, at a suitable distance in the rear of the stops 22, is a shaft 24, and on this shaft is secured a substantially U-shaped rod 26, with a forwardly-extending arm or lever 25, the point of said arm or lever resting against the underside of the transverse portion of the rod 19. The rod 26, with thelever 25, lies normally in the position indicated in full lines in Fig. 1. On the transverse portion of said rod 26 are a plurality of upright stops 27, similar to the stops 22 on the rod 19, said stops being located at points between the bars 10 and normally lying below said bars 10. Now

assuming that a sheet of metal rests on the bars 10 behind the stops 22 when said stops are in their normal position, when the bar 4, carrying the forks 3, rises it will raise the front end of the lever 20 and operating on the pivot 18 as a fulcrum the transverse portion of the rod 19 will be tipped downward to the position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. l, withdrawing thestops 22 from between the bars 10 and permitting, the sheet to slide forward into the hooks 23, where it is in position for being grasped by the next set of forks 3 as they turn over the shaft 6. As is apparent, the bar 4, on which the forks 3 are located, rises between the side rails 2 of the branner and in turning over the shaft 6 engages and raises the point of the lever 20, the bend in said lever serving to raise it still higher as the bar 4 passes thereunder and to fully withdraw the stops 22 from between the bars 10. The point of the lever 25 which rests under the transverse portion of the rod 19 is forced downward when said transverse portion is tipped downward, and operating on the shaft 24 as a fulcrum the transverse portion of the rod 26 is consequently raised to the position indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 1, with the stops 27 elevated between the bars 10. When the bar 4 has passed from beneath the lever 20, said lever immediately assumes its normal position, raising the bar 19 and the stops 22, and at the same time the stops 27 are lowered, permitting any sheet therebehind to slide forward against the stops 22. As is apparent from the above, when the stops 22 are raised the stops 27 are lowered, and vice versa, means being thus provided whereby but one sheet of metal is permitted to slide forward at a time. In other words, the rear set of stops 27 prevent the delivery of a sheet forward until the stops 22 are in position to receive it, and the stops 22 prevent the delivery of a sheet to the forks until any sheet previously delivered has had time to becarried forward by the forks.

The forks 3 are located but ashort distance apart in order that a sheet delivered to the hooks 23 will be almost immediately grasped and carried forward.

The hooks 23 are formed with an acute angle at the end of the straight portion of the rods 10, the points of said rods bending gradually backward and upward from said angle.

The object of this construction is to form hooks against which the sheets in sliding forward strike glancingly, thus preventing the bruising of the edge of the sheet, which is consequent when said edge forcibly strikes against an angular surface.

I have shown my invention in what I consider to be its simplest form; but it is obvious that various changes may be made in the construction of the machine without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention. Hence I do not wish to limit myself to the precise construction shown.

' Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

l. The combination, in a device of the character described,with the sheet-carrying mechanism of a branner, of a table mounted in front of said branner, and means carried by said table whereby the delivery of a sheet of metal to the branner is controlled, said means cooperating with said sheet-carrying mechanism, substantially as described.

2. In a machine of the character described, the combination with the sheet-carrying mechanism of a branner, of a table mounted in front of said mechanism, sheet-holding hooks located in front of said table substantially in the path of the sheet-carrying forks of the branner mechanism, and means carried by said table and cooperating with said branner mechanism whereby but one sheet of metal is permitted to be delivered to said hooks at a time, substantially as described.

3. In a machine of the character described, the combination with the sheet-carrying mechanism of a branner,ofan inclined table having its front end mounted in front of said sheetcarrying mechanism, sheet-holding hooks at the front of said table substantially in the path of the sheet-carrying forks of the brannor; a pivoted rod passing transversely underneath the front end of the table, stops on said rod which normally project upward through said table, a lever connected with said pivoted rod, said lever extending back into the branner in a position to be engaged by the bar on which the forks are mounted and adapted to be raised thereby to withdraw the stops from said table, a second pivoted rod in the rear of the first-mentioned rod and passing transversely underneath the table, stops on said second rod which are normally held below said table, a lever connected with said second rod the point of which rests against the under side of the first-mentioned rod, said second rod adapted to be raised projecting its stops through the table when the first-mentioned rod is lowered, all substantially as and for the purposes set forth and described.

4. In a machine of the character described, the combinationwith the sheet-carryingmechanism of a branner, of an inclined table having its front end mounted in front of said sheetcarrying mechanism, sheet-holding hooks at IIO the front of said table substantially in the path of the sheet-carrying forks of the branner; a pivotally-mounted rod passing transversely underneath the front endof said table, stops on said rod which normally project upward through said table, means whereby said stops are withdrawn from said table at intervals; a second pivotally mounted rod in the rear of the'firstqnentioned rod and pass ing transversely underneath the table, stops on the second rod which stops are normally held below the table, and means whereby when the stops on the first-mentioned rod are lowered from said table the stops on the second rod are raised through the table, and vice versa, substantially as described.

5. In a machine of the character described, the combinationwith the sheet-carrying mechanism of a brannenof a plurality of parallel inclined bars with their front ends mounted in front of the branner and their rear ends mounted on suitable supports, hooks formed by the front ends of said parallel bars in the path of the sheet-carrying forks of the branner, a rod pivotally mounted at the front end of said branner, the body of said rod passing transversely underneath the frontends of said' parallel inclined'bars, a lever carried by said rod, said lever extending back into the branner in aposition to be engaged by the bar 7 carrying the sheet-carrying forks of the branner, upright stops provided on the transverse portion of said rod and normally projecting upward between said parallel bars, a second rod pivotally mounted in the rear of the firstmentioned rod and extending transversely underneath said parallel bars, stops on the transverse portion of said second rod, a lever carried by said second rod, the front end of said lever lying directly underneath the transverse portion of said firstmentioned rod,

whereby when the front set ofstops are lowered from between theparallel inclinedbars vthe rear set of stopsis raised between said bars, and'vice versa, substantially as described. 

